In his article “Jesus Came to Be the Light,” Robert Rusell shares the story of Stella Thornhope who awaited a depressing Christmas. Months earlier, her husband had died of cancer.

On Christmas Day, still deep in grief, she received a delivery. In it was a golden Labrador puppy! Enclosed was her husband’s letter. He bought the puppy three weeks before he died, had it house trained, and arranged to have it delivered that day. In his letter, he encouraged her to be strong and to hold on to the hope that because of Jesus, they would see each other again.

Stella held her puppy and felt an amazing sense of peace that surpassed her sadness.

Friend, Jesus was born. He died. He is risen. Regardless of where we are, the “Light of Seven Days” is right beside us. Simply choose to take His Word for it. “I will be with you always” (Matthew 28:20). 

Enjoy Jesus today! Marc V. Lopez (marcvlopez88@gmail.com) 

Reflect:

In what area of Your life do you need the Light of Christ the most? Ask Him to shine on it!

Jesus, Your light is brighter than any darkness. Shine brightly in my life today. I love You, Jesus. Amen.

St. Maria Giuseppe Rossello, pray for us.

There is an element of humility present in any request for help as it is an admission that one is incapable of seeing the situation through to its end. There is no shame in this, especially if it concerns our faith. God knows that we are incapable of overcoming our sinfulness and so He has sent us the Holy Spirit. 

¹⁹ Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, no more will you weep; He will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you. ²⁰ The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst. No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, ²¹ while from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: “This is the way; walk in it,” when you would turn to the right or to the left. ²³ He will give rain for the seed that you sow in the ground, and the wheat that the soil produces will be rich and abundant. On that day your flock will be given pasture and the lamb will graze in spacious meadows; ²⁴ the oxen and the asses that till the ground will eat silage tossed to them with shovel and pitchfork. ²⁵ Upon every high mountain and lofty hill there will be streams of running water. On the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall, ²⁶ the light of the moon will be like that of the sun and the light of the sun will be seven times greater like the light of seven days. On the day the Lord binds up the wounds of his people, he will heal the bruises left by his blows. 

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R: Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.

¹ Praise the Lord, for he is good; sing praise to our God, for he is gracious; it is fitting to praise him. ² The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem; the dispersed of Israel he gathers. (R) ³ He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. ⁴ He tells the number of the stars; he calls each by name. (R) ⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power: to his wisdom there is no limit. ⁶ The Lord sustains the lowly; the wicked he casts to the ground. (R) 

Gospel | Matthew 9:35–10:1, 5, 6-8

The Church once again reflects on the lack of good shepherds in Israel. This was also the case in the time of Ezekiel. As the Church, we must ensure this will not happen to us. Let us pray for holy men and women to lay down their lives in the service of the Gospel. This includes lay people and clerics. Priests are not the only ones responsible in leading God's people. Parents in their families are also leaders. There are many different ways God calls men and women to lead His people. 

Gospel Acclamation

The Lord is our Judge, our Lawgiver, our King; he it is who will save us. 

³⁵ Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. ³⁶ At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; ³⁸ so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” ^10:1 Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. ⁵ Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, ⁶ “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ⁸ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” 

Read the Bible in one year! Read COLOSSIANS 1 - 4 today.

Did you know that one of the earliest images of Jesus is that of a Good Shepherd? To the early Christians, who were then challenged to keep their faith in secret, this sculpture of Jesus as a young beardless man in a knee-length tunic carrying a lamb reminded them of how He humbled Himself and of what this Good Shepherd has sacrificed on the cross for us all.  

Today’s Gospel reading brings up this much-loved image of Jesus. “At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). As a Good Shepherd, Jesus attends to the needs of the people when He sees them. A few Bible commentators claim that “pity” is perhaps not the best translation of the word used in the original Greek text. Such can be better translated as “compassion,” which refers to an expression of deepest emotion or a strong inner movement of sympathetic feeling that is triggered by the sight of misery. 

Yes, Jesus was moved with compassion upon seeing that people were troubled but had no one to guide and support them. They were abandoned by the political and religious establishments. He was deeply moved by the people’s troubles and He felt a deep sense of vocation to address their troubles. In Jesus, the prophecy of Isaiah was being fulfilled. With Him, God’s promise was becoming a reality: “No more will you weep; God will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you. The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst” (Isaiah 30:19-20).   

Finally, Jesus asks His disciples to pray for “laborers for His harvest.” Thus, all of us baptized children of God are called, in some way, to be laborers—to be heralds of the Good News of Christ in our own unique vocation. Fr. Rick Montañez, AA 

Reflection Question:

Having been privileged to experience our Good Shepherd’s care, are you also a good shepherd to others? 

Called to do our share in shepherding the welfare of our brothers and sisters in need, we pray that we may selflessly serve others as You did. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _____________________________________